Holiday Laughter
by SageK
Summary: Entry fot Day 5 in my holiday drabble challenge on my LJ


There was a time, not all that long ago, when anyone who extolled the belief in alien life too vehemently would be labeled as foolish, crazy or even dangerous. Reports of UFO sightings were written off as hoaxes or written off as figments of overactive, not entirely sober minds.

That was all before the Visitors arrived, before their ships appeared, hovering over 29 cities, uncloaked and unafraid. Amazingly human in appearance, they came offering knowledge and technology, professing an ideology of peace and brotherhood.

In a world fraught with conflict, poverty, death and disasters on a global scale, this seemed like almost a godsend. The majority of people, awed and amazed, readily accepted the offered hand of friendship without reservation. Questions that should have been asked weren't in the wake of excitement and shock. Governments were opening their borders to their new friends, who were as eager to learn about Earth's cultures as they were to share their own.

Or So the propaganda claimed.

But there were a scant few who knew the true nature of the Visitors, who were aware that they were not what they purported to be. Had it just been the revelation of the V's true, lizard like faces, the deception could perhaps be written off as a fear of rejection, but the sleeper cells and hit squads and murders negated that option.

A meeting had been held in secret, a meeting that revealed the Visitor's malicious intent to a few individuals. Some sort of V assassin drone, then a squad of assassins arrived and massacred everyone. Those who survived were left with two choices: Give up or fight.

FBI Special Agent Erica Evans had survived the slaughter in the warehouse and knew what her only option was. She was a fighter and would oppose these new enemies with the same zeal with which she had always brought to her work. Things would get tough, hands would get dirty, but in her heart she knew people would fight when they realized the V's true agenda.

On a snowy Saturday morning, a week before Christmas, she stood in her kitchen, sipping a cup of freshly brewed coffee and waiting for a knock at her door. Jack Landry, her friend and partner in resistance, was the person she trusted most in the world since Dale Maddox, her Bureau partner of 7 years had been revealed as a Visitor. She and Jack had met at the doomed resistance meeting, two of the few to escape and had since decided that working together was their best bet for survival.

The knock came just as expected and she stepped towards the door, pausing for an instant to glance at her reflection, then laughed at herself. It wasn't like her jeans, t-shirt and ponytail were any sort of fashion statement that had to be perfect.

Pulling open the door, she smiled at Jack, who was standing on the stoop, somewhat sheltered from the snow, with a white pastry bag in hand and a box under his arm. Despite the weather, he smiled, revealing his straight, white teeth and said, "I brought bagels."

"A staple for resistance meetings," she agreed, waving him in.

Jack was tall and lean with blond hair and blue eyes. His strong features were attractive and the sturdy, practical clothing he wore suited him in a very flattering way.

If they weren't in the midst of trying to stop an alien invasion, Erica might have spared a moment to regret the fact that he was a Catholic priest and thus off limits…Oh, who was she kidding, she'd spared a few thoughts on that particular notion. That wasn't a crime and she didn't think it was a sin…at least, she hoped it wasn't.

Leading him back into the kitchen, she noted with some relief that he was in his off duty-- or, as she called them, undercover-- clothes instead of the all black/white collar thing. She really didn't want her nosy neighbors speculating as to why a priest kept showing up at her house. Plus, jeans, a white oxford shirt and a leather jacket was a good look for him. If the gossips were going to talk, it might as well be about the hot guy at her door.

As she moved around the kitchen, prepping the bagels, he put the box on the island and slid into one of the chairs, sipping from the cup of coffee she had set out for him. After a moment, she asked, "What's in the box?" "Christmas present," he replied. "I'm going to be a bit busy until after the holiday, so I brought it…."

He trailed off as though embarrassed and she grinned. "Got you something too."

She stepped over to the hall closet and pulled out a heavy gift bag. Handing it to him, she asked, "Do I have to wait till Christmas to open my gift."

Jack smiled again and laughed. "No."

Eagerly, she pulled the lid off of the box and withdrew a n odd assortment of items. After a moment she realized she held a small field surgery kit complete with a scalpel, several blades, hemostats, forceps, scissors, probes, suture materiel, gauze and tape. All of that was common enough, but the box of lidocaine and syringes was not. In her hands, she now held the tools she would need to slice open a person's skin to see if they were truly human or a sleeper V.

"This is great," she said with a sincere smile, then tilted her head. "But how did you get this much Lidocaine? And where?"

He looked a little uncomfortable. "I know people who know people."

Probably his parishioners, she realized. His church was not in the best part of town. Motioning to the bag in his hands, she said, "Open it."

Reaching into the bag, he pulled out five books:

_The Complete Idiot's Guide to Spies and Espionage, _

_Secrets Of Surveillance: A Professional's Guide To Tailing Subjects By Vehicle, Foot, Airplane, And Public Transportation, _

_Surveillance Countermeasures: A Serious Guide To Detecting, Evading, And Eluding Threats To Personal Privacy,_

_The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual,_

_The Spycraft Manual: The Insider's Guide to Espionage Techniques _

He looked at the books in his hands and smiled. "Is this a commentary on my covert operations skills?" he asked lightly.

"Or lack there of," she concluded with a nod, then leaned over his shoulder to tap the books. "If we're gonna do this, I figure it can't hurt to know how to do it."

"Fair enough," he agreed, slipping the books back into the bag as they heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Mom, I…" Tyler trailed off as he entered the kitchen and saw that his mother was not alone. He narrowed his eyes slightly, then backed out of the kitchen. "Oh. Hey. The priest. Again."

"Father Jack," Erica corrected, peering at him as though he had grown a second head. "Why are you up this early?"

"Going to Brandon's," he called as he fled the house, causing Erica to sigh and drop into the other chair.

"He's been acting even stranger since I caught him with a girl in his…" she stopped and sat up straight, wide eyes locking on Jack. "Oh no."

"What?" Jack asked, placing a comforting hand on her arm, concerned as she suddenly burst into laughter.

Between giggles, she gasped, "My son thinks…my son thinks that we're…."

She waved a hand between them and a faint blush stained Jack's face as he followed her meaning and he cleared his throat. "Well at least he won't be asking too many questions about why I'm here."

Erica continued to laugh. This holiday season had not been one of joy, so she took pleasure where she could find it. Besides, the embarrassed look on Jack's face was kind of adorable and she figured the world wasn't going to end if she took a moment to enjoy herself. After all, it was almost Christmas, the time of peace and goodwill to all.

This year, and possibly many more to come, they would be fighting for those things in a way they'd never imagined. Looking at Jack, Erica thought at least the angels had to be on their side.


End file.
